95,000-plus UPI-related fraud cases reported last year: Finance Ministry – Times of India

UPI (unified payment interface) payments have grown exponentially and earlier this month, Reserve Bank of India governor Shaktikanta Das said daily transactions through the system crossed 36 crore, from 24 crore in February 2022. However, with the rise in payments, UPI-related fraud cases have increased. As per the union finance ministry, more than 95,000 fraud cases of UPI transactions were recorded in the country in 2022-23.
There were 84,000 cases of UPI fraud in 2021-22, and in 2020-21, 77,000 such cases were recorded. The figures were revealed when Rajya Sabha MP Kartikeya Sharma in Parliament asked a question over increasing cases of digital payment frauds in the country.
According to the data from the National Payments Corporation of India, users completed over Rs 125 crore ($1.52 million) worth of UPI transactions last year.

UPI grievance portal
Dr Bhagwat Karad, minister of state for finance, said that the government has come up with the national cybercrime reporting portal that enables users to register complaints regarding UPI fraud cases.
“UPI applications provide an in-app intimation of a user initiating payment to an unknown beneficiary, the device-binding concept, wherein a user’s mobile number is bound with his mobile device, which makes it nearly impossible for anyone to interject,” said Karad.
UPI popularity in India
Since its launch, UPI has become extremely popular in India and its popularity has risen in other countries. Last month, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Minister Communications and Electronics & Information Technology, said that India has signed MoUs with 13 countries that want to adopt the UPI interface.

Countries including Singapore, the UAE, Mauritius, Nepal and Bhutan have adopted UPI. This will allow Indians to make payments in these countries through UPI.
Recently, a report by Times of India said that in Gujarat alone, 70% of complaints about online financial scams in the past year were about UPI-related fraud.